October Weather Review

October started out with a summertime weather pattern for all of central and southeast Illinois. High temperatures in the 80s and lows in the 60s were more typical of July, and were 15 to 20 degree above normal. A strong cold front slowly pushed across the region on the 4th-6th, bringing a widespread 1-2" rainfall. Temperatures cooled several degrees behind this front, but remained several degrees above normal through the middle of the month. A few weak weather systems affected the region through the second the third week of the month and produced scattered mainly light rain amounts.

A much stronger cold front pushed through the area on the 20th-21st, and while there was not much precipitation associated with this front, temperatures plummeted well below normal and brought the first frost and freeze conditions of the season. A widespread killing freeze occurred on the morning of the 25th when temperatures dropped into the lower and middle 20s, ending the growing season, and setting several record lows (coldest low reported was 20 degrees at Lincoln). The first snow flurries of the season were also reported during this week. Temperatures remained well below normal until the last couple days of the month, allowing the month as a whole to average near normal.

Another strong and slow moving cold front affected the area on the 30th-31st. Southerly winds blowing ahead of this system pumped Gulf moisture north into the Midwest and interacted with the front to produce widespread moderate to heavy rainfall. Much of the region saw 2-3" totals, with several 3-4" amounts reported. This was one of the wettest Halloweens on record for the area. Despite the beneficial rainfall, the month as a whole saw near average precipitation for much of the region, and moderate to severe drought conditions remained in place.

October Temp. departure from normal

October percent of normal precip.

October 30-31 rainfall

The table below summarizes October 2013 precipitation and temperature, and departure from normal for selected cities across central and southeast Illinois. Data from Peoria and Springfield are from ASOS sites, while others are from NWS Cooperative Observers.

Site

Precipitation

Departure from Normal

Average Temperature

Departure from Normal

Charleston

2.56"

-1.20"

57.1

+0.8

Decatur

M

M

55.0

-1.2

Galesburg

2.73"

-0.02"

52.7

+0.2

Jacksonville

2.63"

-0.38"

55.0

+0.8

Lincoln

3.51"

+0.43"

53.8

0.0

Normal

3.67"

+0.39"

54.4

+1.3

Olney

3.57"

-0.42"

56.0

-0.2

Peoria

5.13"

+2.29"

54.9

+0.9

Springfield

3.60"

+0.45"

54.6

-0.5

Urbana

3.59"

+0.33"

54.7

+0.8

Links below are the monthly climate summaries for area cities. Only the summaries for Peoria, Springfield and Lincoln are considered "official", meaning they are the station of record for their respective locations. The other summaries are "supplemental", meaning another location in the area is the official climate station for that city.